Finished product

 

Thanks JLR for designing the front end one of the worlds most historical and capable 4x4’s to be anything but mod easy. What a friggin joke. I gotta say you did a pretty great job considering what there is to work with. Some of the cuts are gnarly but if you actually take it off road the mud will conceal that.

 

Well done - was a messy job indeed! How did you wire the winch? That part took me a bit as I didn’t buy the LR winch but so did not need to wire into the fuse box.

 

One comment about TFLs second Defender where they stated the dealer “cut through a wiring loom that is irreplaceable” thus they had to get a third. I don’t buy it. Nothing in the areas that you cut is “irreplaceable”, yes, a huge pain in the *** if you do, but you be are not cutting anywhere near then main loom going into the main fuse box etc. At most you would cut the parking sensors or front cam wires. An LR dealer would surely be able to order those parts.

 

I just wonder if there are Fibre Optic cables in this loom as for sure they would be impossible to splice at a dealer without specialist training etc... but JLR would not be crazy enough to put FO cable in a car loom, would they ?

I imagine JLR will try their hardest to avoid telling us what really bricked that car. Maybe they just made such a dogs dinner of the cutting that the panels were all scrap ?

I personally am much more interested in what caused a good 4Cyl Diesel Ingenium engine on TFL's first vehicle to be bricked, and is it linked to the replacement of the engines. As I have a 4Cyl Diesel Ingenium, it is a slight concern.

But I would also like to say well done to Mark1107 for your perseverence, as for sure it does look like it has been a Fookin Nightmare for you mate. End result is FFP even though the cutting is a bit Gnarly. Think this confirms what I said previously. We really need JLR to dumb this kit down or else we rely on the aftermarket boys to engineer something that JLR are restricted in doing due to the Type Approval laws.

Oldmowgli.

 

I plan to beat the **** out of my defender on the trail.

thanks guys for the compliments!

 

Where did you find the BULL BAR and how much was it? Easy Install?

Thanks and your Defender looks Great!!

 

I see that Lucky8 now offers a rear ladder for the Defender 2. Nice to see.

While I await from Lucky8 the shipment of their rock sliders to me, I have written them to request an update on any design work they have underway regarding the front bumper, bash plate and winch. I will keep following up until we have better understanding.

I have watched with great interest the good work being done by you all and the folks at PowerfulUKltd to fit the JLR winch carrier, with either the Roo bar or covered H bar finish. I am very impressed and educated by the effort. Thanks to all. The installation effort presently necessary is excessively heroic -- one I would not count on a dealer to reliably execute on my vehicle --- certainly not while being timed to meet a labor cost specification in their pricing books.

I have present concern over the inability to easily access the winch for routine service, cleaning and use in difficult environments. Accepting JLR's statement (which I read about 18 months ago somewhere) about needing to meet very stringent EU collision requirements with pedestrians, than we will need to count on at least one aftermarket supplier to step up with a solution which likely places the winch more forward and replaces more of the bumper (basically similar to an ARB-like solution). This hope I shared with Lucky8, as well.

We shall see how all proceeds. In the meantime, I am using the photos and the 5 video show to identify how to alter the JLR design to effectively access the winch in the field.

 

Posting to reference when my Roo Bar arrives stateside.

 

Good day-

Could you please provide the website and link of where you found the bull bar for your 2020 Defender. I am looking to purchase the bull bar for my 2021 and having one of my local stores conduct the install - they just don't have the product given that's a newer vehicle model. They also mostly service Wranglers, Trucks, etc.

Thank you,
Jon